


An Unsettling Voice

by McAntiLoughlin



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: (I'm an Early 2000's Nerd), AU, Almost Everyone is Gay TBH, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Draco Malfoy in the Muggle World, F/F, F/M, Gay!Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter AU, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, M/M, Mentions of Yu-Gi-Oh, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Remus Lupin Being a Dad, Remus Lupin Lives, Slightly aged-up characters, Sorry For Any Messy Slang, Sorry Not Sorry, Tags May Change, Written By An Ugly American, draco and harry friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:35:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21726865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McAntiLoughlin/pseuds/McAntiLoughlin
Summary: -This story will gradually be getting darker as it goes on, and is slow to update. I began this project almost two years ago now and am just beginning to write the start of chapter three. There will be mentions of mental, physical, and emotional abuse of (a) main character(s). This story is also not beta read by anyone but myself for the most part. I sadly don't trust people online with things I feel personal attachment to due to past events with someone I met online when I was younger. Warnings will be placed at the top of each chapter as needed, as well as added to the tags as the story is posted.-"No one ever asks me to, so I do not.""So you follow the rule of 'don't speak unless you're spoken to' kind of thing then?" Blaise asked mockingly."I would say 'does not everyone', but then how else would conversations begin? How could anyone discuss anything if they had not been spoken to in the first place? No one would ever speak if they had not been asked because no one would ever ask because they were not spoken to first. I just so happen to know when to keep comments to myself. Unlike some..."You heard Draco give a snort."I think he's trying to tell you to shut it Zabini."
Relationships: Cedric Diggory/Original Male Character(s), Draco Malfoy/Original Male Character(s), Harry Potter/Original Male Character(s), Hermione Granger/Pansy Parkinson, Ron Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Kudos: 11





	An Unsettling Voice

It was a warm, summer's day in late August on Abbey Road. A gentle breeze came and went, making the day feel as if it were spring again instead of late summer as it brushed against your exposed, (s/t) skin. Your face had broken into a soft smile as you rode your bicycle down the street of a sloping neighborhood. The houses were tall and built at a slant, made with old looking brick and shiny white gutters to deter the heavy rain from messing with their foundation. Your (h/l) hair whipped in and out of your face as you slowly eased back onto your brakes the closer to the bottom of the hill you got, swiftly turning down the road on the left towards the park and your home.

The darkness that came with evening was quickly descending upon you, and the warm hues from the sunset were slowly but surely shifting into the midnight blue color the moon and stars found comfort in. You could hear the birds and squirrels scampering through the trees to settle in for the night as you passed them. Faster and faster you pedaled, trying to reach home as quickly as you could before the creatures that lurked in the shadows could reach out and snatch you.

“(Y/N),” your mother said upon your arrival in the front yard, mouth pulled down in disapproval from where she stood at the front porch. “Glad to see you could join your brother and sister in setting the table for dinner tonight.”

You hop off your bicycle, hanging your head low and slumping your shoulders to appear smaller and more docile around her. Your mother, despite her angellican appearance of a slim face with nearly white blonde hair and crystalline blue eyes, was a harsh woman with high expectations for her family and household. She was strict with her views and definition of perfect children - obedient, intelligent, and civilized younger versions of both your father and herself. Anything less than perfect within the (L/N) household was to be reprimanded and fixed.

“I apologize for my lateness in getting home mother,” you say meekly, eyes cast at your dirt and mud-stained sneakers. “I took too long in choosing a book from Mister Skeeves' library tonight to take with me on the train come tomorrow morning.”

Without looking you can feel her icy eyes narrowing as she gives a stern glare up and down your slim form. She gives a snort of air through her slim nose in disapproval. Her next words come out quietly and angrily over your choices for the evening, almost a snakes hiss as she grips your shoulder tightly to lead you inside the two-story home.

“If this happens one more time you will be pulled from that school and end up on the streets. Do I make myself clear? I will not have impromptu, disrespectful children under my roof and in my home (Y/N).”

By the time the front door is closed behind the two of you, your mother's grip on you had tightened to an unbearable amount of pressure. You were certain there would be bruises there in the shape of her manicured fingers within the hour. She gave a harsh shove to your shoulder blade to propel you further, and you did not need to be told to head into the grand dining room where your elder brother and sister were.

Both Seraphina and Henry, twins with stark black hair and grey eyes who were two years older than you, barely spared you a glance over their shoulders as you stumbled into the well lit room. They were at the top of their classes with high marks and even higher regards from their Professors on their return home at the end each year. Leaving you in the dust in comparison to your parents steely eyes. They were both soft spoken and always polite no matter the situation, and never seemed to give a single muscle twitch in response to anything - not even the rare insult spat directly at them in the halls between classes.

They were so well behaved in fact, that next to them you looked like an utter arse to people. It irked you to no end and there was hardly a thing you could do to try and remedy it. But in the end you couldn’t attempt to look better either way due to your parents.

To them, Seraphina and Henry were the best things to have ever happened and they held the twins accomplishments above your head to guilt you into doing their bidding. It was an utter miracle you had convinced them into allowing you to go to Hogwarts with your siblings every year.

After a moment of you awkwardly standing in the archway to the dining area, decorated by old family portraits and elegant knick-knacks on mahogany shelves, both siblings moved to exit the room silently, handing you the plates and cutlery in your nimble hands as they moved past you. A sigh escaped your lips, and you went about finishing setting up the table by yourself.

Your father came in then, newspaper folded up under his arm and head tilted up as always.

He said nothing to you however as he made his way to the head of the table.

Your father was a tall man with long dark hair and a sharp featured face. Slytherin through and through in everything he did and how he acted. He worked at the Ministry of Magic dealing in negotiations with muggles and wizards alike to keep the ‘peace’ between the two worlds behind the scenes, so-to-speak, when the Minister himself couldn’t. He was highly paid and respected for his work, well enough that your family owned two homes - one in the muggle world and another estate in the wizarding one.

“What is for dinner tonight (Y/N).” He spoke, voice neutral as always.

You faltered for a moment, placing the plate in your hand down onto the large table with a quiet clack of the elegant china. Your voice, barely above a whisper, quivered as you swallowed and answered him. You may have feared your mother, but your father…

“I do not know, sir. Would you like for me to go ask mother what the house elves are preparing?”

The silence seemed to drag on as you stood frozen in place, forcing yourself to continue to stare down at the individual grains of wood as you waited. You could hear the large grandfather clock in the corner across the room clicking and your father dart his tongue out to wet his thin, pale lips before he answered you.

“No.” His voice gained a slight tilt to it, garnering your attention. “I do however, wish of you to come sit beside me for a moment.”

“S-sir?”

“What have your mother and I told you about stuttering?” The your infernal was left absent, but you heard it nevertheless as you set the dishes down and hurried over to the seat he directed you to.

“My apologies sir…”

He flipped the page of the newspaper before continuing.

“How many years have you been attending Hogwarts now? Has it been one, two years?”

The question threw you off for a moment, making you glance up at him before ducking your head once more and answering softly for him. “This shall be my fourth year sir-”

“One more year until you take your O.W.L.S then.”

“... yes?”

Confusion laced itself through your words without your meaning to, letting the words hang in the air for what seemed to be hours but was barely a second.

“Your brother and sister have one more year before they graduate together with the rest of their class. They have received remarkable scores in all of their classes every year. Henry has won many games against the other houses in Quiditch for Slytherin the past few years. Seraphina has started her own Herbology and Potions clubs. Both have started multiple study groups throughout their stay at Hogwarts, and your mother and I very proud of what they have done so far.” Your father takes a moment to skim over another article in his paper before turning the page once more. “Do you understand why I bring this up to you now, (Y/N)?”

You have an inkling, but your terror keeps you from suggesting where you have failed to him.

“I-”

He doesn’t give you the chance to try and excuse your actions before suddenly his wand is in your face and it is all you can focus on. Your breath catches in your throat and lungs, while you instantly back as far into the chair as the sturdy wood will allow. Over the course of time you have grown to be more familiar with the wood of your fathers wand rather than his face. His wand meant many things: anger, rage, disappointment - all of it rolled into a slim, white outlet he could and would use at any moment on you in the privacy of his own home.

“Your mother and I are growing rather impatient at your lack of results with this school, (Y/N).” He speaks, face still half-way hidden in his paper. “If you cannot manage to garner one impressive accomplishment by the end of the year you shall be removed from Hogwarts and left there in Hogsmeade after your punishment here at home. After, you shall not attempt to contact any of us, and you will not use our last name in order to slander us with your disgracefulness. You will be crossed from the family tree and left to die. Do I make myself clear to you?”

You say nothing as fear races through you, chilling your veins and freezing you to the seat in which you sit. You can feel the small ice shards forming around where your fingers grip onto the velvet of the seats cushion in a rare outburst of magic at your influx of sudden emotion. You knew your parents were rather- distant from you compared to other children and their families. But to hear the threat of your father punishing and then kicking you from your home was utterly terrifying.

If they pulled you from Hogwarts without at least taking your O.W.L.S first, then you would be unable to find work in either world. You would not be sufficiently educated enough to find a remotely well enough paying job to live off of in the muggle world, and you'd have to wait three years before being able to do legal magic outside of school in the wizarding world, making you useless.

You’d be left to die and starve there in Hogsmeade, with no chance of surviving.

“What are you doing just sitting there, ruining the chairs wood with with your horrid magic? Finish setting the table as your mother instructed.”

He flipped the page of the newspaper once more, and that was the end of the conversation.

~

You arrived at the train station, luggage and pet cat in hand as you followed slowly behind your brother and sister. They each towered over you, and their long strides made it difficult to keep up with them as your mother had instructed you to do. People bustled about on the platform, not bothering to say a polite ‘excuse me’ as they rushed off. You could see the tops of red hair that were distinct for the Weasley family from the corner of your (e/c) eyes, as well as that one boy, Harry you think his name was, who had long since defeated Lord Voldemort in his first year following after them once you could see him beyond the crowd.

He, much like you, was rather short in comparison to others in your class. He was however, was still taller than you. Most of the second years at this point, in fact, were now even taller than you. But you could faintly remember conversations held in what was thought to be secrecy within the darkened, empty halls of Hogwarts close to lights out about The Boy Who Lived, and muffled complaining from downstairs or down the hall while you had been in your room, stories of how a mere first year had defeated the Dark Lord not once, but twice.

And you could remember stories about the Dark Lord himself as well. The killing and beating of muggles and mudbloods and halfbloods, the terror that gripped many wizards and witches as they walked the halls of schools across the European nations and home to their families at night. Your mother and father - even with their neutral tones, still held a sort of reverence for what you thought was a wicked man.

You were just glad you never had to attend the secret meetings as your siblings and other Slytherin children had and met Lord Voldemort. The mere thought plagued your mind and made you feel ill much like the flu would.

You stepped through the hidden passage for platform 9 and ¾ , feeling the magic go over you like a gentle beating of owl wings. In this part of the train station everything was much calmer, much more enchanting than in the muggle world you found yourself in from summer to fall.

Witches, wizards and students hurried in every direction to find their friends or a place to sit on the train. Your siblings left you at the gate in their own search and you hesitated before rushing off towards the nearest Slytherins you could remember from the year before.

There were three of them in total: Blaise Zabini and the twins Flora and Hestia Carrow, of which you resorted to following. You didn’t know much about any of them due to your inept lack of social interaction with anyone for the past three years you had been attending Hogwarts, other than that Blaise was one of Draco Malfoy’s cronies, and that the twins kept to themselves, but were sometimes seen with Pansy when she wasn’t with Draco and her usual group.

“- can’t believe people still fawn over him of all people.” Blaise could be heard saying, stressing the two words with utter disdain. “All he did was get lucky twice in his life and now all anyone wants to do is make everything about him, can you believe that?”

One of the twins gave a non committal hmm in response and gave the other a tap on her hand, pointing up at a window of the train where they both gave a curt wave to a blonde Hufflepuff girl trying to gain their attention through the glass.

“After first year, and hearing all of it in the halls for the past four, I’m starting to understand Malfoy’s disdain over Potter.”

Without even thinking the words tumbled from your lips.

“He did save two worlds from the Dark Lord…”

Blaise’s reaction was far quicker than the Carrow twins, who slowly came to silent stop ahead of you, as he twisted around to face you. He paused for a moment before taking a step closer towards you, finger held up as he brought it up to point at you.

He didn’t quite look angered by your comment, but the slightly jerky movements he made as he continuously moved closer and closer set you on edge. You swallowed the sudden lump in your throat, eyes flicking around only to see no one take notice of your distress. You clenched your hands, ducking your head and glancing up at him through the hair now in your face. Slow, mellowed panic rose in your chest and a cold sweat broke across your brow.

“You-” he began, coming to a stop before you and grabbing at your thin wrist. “You’re the (L/N) kid that came during second year, aren’t you?”

When all you did was duck your head further Blaise continued with a harsh laugh.

“All you’ve heard are the exaggerated stories in passing in the halls and classrooms. You don’t even know the half of the truth I bet. You think that Potter saved anyone? All that kid has done is get messed up in something he should have left alone to run its course.” He laughed in a harsh whisper, his grip becoming almost unbearable on your delicate skin.

“Blaise,” a soft voice called. “We’ll be late getting to our cart and lose our seats with Malfoy if you don’t come off it.”

Blaise gave a glance over his shoulder to the twin with the golden eyes currently giving him a let it go you arse look. and holding her sisters hand tightly. He gave a huff, and tossed your wrist down from his grip.

“Calm down Hestia, I’m just giving the tight arse here some advice seeing as he’s so misinformed and so much younger than us.” He placated. He turned to you once more, hazel eyes burning and lips quirked up into a smirk as he spoke in a lowered voice only you could just barely hear over the rushing families.

"A small piece of advice for your troubles, from one snake to another. Harry Potter saved no one in that chamber during first year. All he did was act stupid and reckless like all Gryffindor's do, and stave the inevitable off for a short intermission. He's coming back, and when he does he'll break Potter down until there's nothing left, before going after those like you who have stupid ideas inside their little, illogical minds."

He then turned away with them then. The small group walked further down the side of the train, both twins peeking over their shoulders at you before boarding. You stood there for a few moments, doing the breathing technique Madam Pomfrey had taught you early on during your first year at Hogwarts.

You despised being touched.

You finally stepped onto the train after calming yourself, Zabini's words playing over and over on repeat in your now addled mind. You walked down the aisles to find an empty cart to avoid having to talk to people as you usually did. Talking with others had never been your forte, at least not with others your age. You found the Professors and staff at Hogwarts much easier to discuss with over your class and housemates. You were rather excited to be able to talk with Professors Snape, Lupin and McGonagall again upon your arrival back to Hogwarts this year despite the turmoil the past twenty-four hours your mind had been in.

You eventually found an empty cart and settled inside of it with your luggage in tow behind you. Your cat hopped down from your arms onto the seat opposite you, her slim black tail wagging back and forth behind her rather large and fluffy rump. She almost seemed to smile up at you as you sat finally and reached into your smallest bag for a treat to give her. The Siamese gave a purr in thanks, munching on the fish shaped piece of kibble noisily as she settled down for the long trip.

The next twenty minutes before the Hogwarts Express would depart from Kings Cross was spent by looking for your sixth year potions book in order to skim over what Professor Snape would surely cover this year in his class in the drafty dungeons. One such chapter in the book caught your eye; Amortentia - better known as the love potion most commonly used amongst desperate witches and wizards. Below the chapter heading was a brief summary describing the potion and its’ properties along with a moving drawing to imitate the bubbling and billowing from inside the cauldron. 

" _Amortentia is a love potion that does not create actual love, but gives the drinker a powerful obsession and infatuation with the giver of the potion. It is usually either forced upon someone or covertly given. As a rule of thumb, the longer a love potion awaits consumption, the stronger the effects will be. The potion's aroma is unique to each person who consumes it, as it smells like whatever attracts each individual and it can also be identified by its characteristic spirals of steam and its mother-of-pearl sheen. Unless constantly administered, its effects wear off eventually_."

You wondered why such a thing would even remotely be considered for a classroom. But you trusted Professor Snape's choices in educating his pupils, and YOU would pay attention in whatever lessons he had planned for his class with you nonetheless. 

Despite your advancements in Potions, Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes under the guidance of Professor Snape, Flitwick and Lupin, neither your mother or father were particularly impressed with it. Both Henry and Seraphina had been further advanced in more studies by their second year compared to you, that it didn't make much of a difference. It was expected of you to be ahead of your fellow housemates and fourth year students in ALL of your studies.

The train gave a great jolt as it pulled away from the station finally. You could see hundreds of huddled together figures waving goodbye to their friends and family with both hands and bits of fabric that were more than likely parents tear stained hankeys. Shouts of goodbyes and good lucks swarmed the cabins as heads of students popped out from the windows to prolong the experience. It caused a bit of jealousy to form in the pit of your stomach uneasily, and you rubbed at the spot as you turned away from the open window.

You wished you could have had parents to wave you off and friends who you could return to upon reaching Hogwarts like all of the other children. But instead your mother and father had merely dropped the three of you off outside of the muggle station and drove off in their silver Rolls Royce without a single hint of affection. All you had received as you were exiting the vehicle was a stern warning from your father.

‘Remember what I said about disappointing your mother and I, (Y/N)’

You gave a shaky huff, shaking your head as the sweets cart rolled by to see if you wanted anything. Your departure had left a rather sour taste and feeling to where you doubted you would be able to hold anything down. And besides that you had no money to waste on such things. You only had enough to replace a few meager quills and ink bottles should you break, lose or run out of them.

A knock on the glass of the door broke you of your thoughts. Standing there was a short, slightly pudgy boy with a mess of strangely dark blue curls upon his head. He gave a sheepish smile, using his mostly covered hand to push his large, round frames back up his button nose. Beside him was a small rolling trunk and a small bird cage that no doubt housed the smallest elf owl you think you’d ever seen.

“I- I’m terribly sorry to be a bother,” he said, stuttering and sallow face turning a blotchy red. “But there aren’t any carts available. Would you mind if I sat with you? I’m not a very chatty person, …if that helps persuade you into letting me, and Adley doesn’t cause much of a fuss either.”

You simply gazed at the boy for a moment longer before relenting and giving a nod, motioning to the spot besides your cat. You watched as his pink eyes lit up in elation and a bright grin grew across his flushed face. He quickly pushed his luggage into the compartment above, next to your own trunk and rushed to close the sliding door behind him.

“You have oddly colored eyes, even for a wizard.” You pointed out. “I do not think I have ever seen that type of coloring on anyone.”

He flushed under your curious gaze and ducked his head into the folds of his dark jumper that practically drowned him inside of the excess fabric.

“My mum says I was born from an unlucky encounter between a witch and an incubus." He says. "I’m adopted you see, and my pa told me that the witch who had me was too ashamed to return to her lover and say she’d had me. So she dropped me off at one of the orphanages in northern Ireland and that’s where my new family found me. It's good they were a magical family and not muggles! Otherwise I probably would've ended up back in the orphanage when my magic started showin' at seven.”

“Oh- I am terribly sorry. I did not mean to pry into your personal life so deeply.” You announced, flustering yourself this time.

“It’s quite alright. It may be a sad origin story, but it has a happy ending! I ended up with a great big family with lots of brothers and sisters, seven of 'em, and I'm heading off to my second year of Hogwarts! I'm Apollo Navuluri from Waterford by the way.” He smiles, stretching out his slender hand for you to shake.

You took his cold hand into your own.

“(Y/N) (L/N)." 

You each separated and leaned back in the seats provided after a moment. Apollo was very short for a second year - shorter than you had even been during your own second year at Hogwarts. You could remember all the sneers and glaring remarks based upon your height you had received from all the other houses, including your own. The thought of him possibly being a victim to the same treatment made something in you stir, something that was protective over him despite only just meeting each other.

"I do not mean to be rude by saying this to you Apollo, or to insinuate anything," you start, staring him down with a hidden gentleness in your (e/c) eyes. "But I can almost guarantee that you may be on the receiving end of some rather... distasteful remarks... regarding your stature."

He gave a whispering laugh and a soft smile. "I've already received speech after speech from my older siblings, telling me to make friends and stick as close together as I can to 'em. But I know enough defensive spells to sway any bullies from continuing."

"You can keep close to me if you ever need to. I was bullied for my rather short height as well." You kept the part where you still were to yourself. "I can teach you a few hexes I have taught myself over the years if you would like."

"Unnecessary, but appreciated nonetheless. Thank you for the kind offer (Y/N)."

You gave an awkward grin and returned to flipping through your potions book for the rest of the train ride.

~

You looked out of the train window when it came to a rough stop. Red and orange streaks were painted across the sky, accented by the dark outline of tall towers from the castle housing Hogwarts. The air was colder there, circling everyone where they stood on the platform in front of Hogsmeade. You stepped off the train, followed by Apollo who gave a smile before rushing over to join the other second years that were gathered around the half-giant Hagrid.

The smell of late autumn leaves and pumpkin juice wafted in the air, giving most everyone a sense of home away from home.

You followed after your fellow fourth year Slytherins, the sound of crunching footsteps and swishing cloaks echoing down the wooded path that lead to the carriages, each waiting to whisk Hogwarts students up to the gates. Droves of students in groups of fours and sixes climbed inside each one, chatting and laughing amongst each other loudly and slamming the carriage doors closed behind them.

You caught sight of the Carrow twins climbing into what appeared to be the only empty carriage left and bustled over to them.

"Excuse me, Flora, Hestia?" You asked, huffing softly as you tried to catch your breath.

Both girls looked down at you from the creaky, black wrought-iron steps leading up into the warmly lit inside. A pair of gold and brown eyes bore into you, making you flush near scarlet under the intense gaze of the two. Each twin was pale, tall and slender faced, framed by shoulder length amber hair with long, pointed noses. They wore matching dark cloaks over their wide shoulders and bishop cuffed white dress shirts beneath their uniforms. 

"May we help you?" The one nearest asked, brown eyes raking up and down your panting form as if looking at something mildly disgusting. "We don't exactly have all night you know."

"Flora, manners."

Golden eyes, Hestia you surmised, gave a meaningful glance at her sister before entering the carriage and sitting down outside of your range of view. You swallowed, clearing your throat and adverting your own gaze to your pair of dress shoes, digging the tips into the ground out of nerves. Flora heaved a great sigh, and you thought she might have stuck her tongue out at her sister if not for being a Slytherin and needing to keep appearances up around the other houses.

"Your name is-?"

"(Y/N) (L/N)..."

"Right." She gave another rake of her eyes, turning her face so that she was now looking ahead to all the other carriages slowly filling. She turned back to glare down her nose at you. "I suppose you're here to ask to ride with us up to the castle then, are you?"

"If it is not too much to ask of you, yes." You say, straightening your posture as much as you were able to under the pressure her brown eyes brought upon you. "There are no more empty carriages for Slytherins, and seeing as the other houses are not particularly friendly towards us, or me for that matter..."

You let yourself trail off, (e/c) eyes hopeful in the most subtle way you could manage at the moment. Flora gave another heavy sigh, shoulders slumping in a minor way as to go unnoticed by all those but the ones in the nearest vicinity to her. She didn't give a verbal answer and instead motioned for you to follow her in with a tilt of her head. You walked up the three steps and entered the carriage behind her billowing cloak, closing the door behind you. When you look around you are surprised to see that not only had Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson joined the Carrow twins, but so had none other than Draco Malfoy.

The pale blond boy raised a manicured brow at your sudden entrance, but did not comment on it from where his head was perched in Pansy's lap. His lengthy, slim body took up the rest of the only open seat, cloak wrapped around him and spilling onto the red velvet ground below the plush benches. 

"You again!?"

You shifted to look at Blaise. He was now standing from his seat in the far corner across from both Pansy and Draco. His cloak was folded neatly on his seat and being used as another layering of cushion. Both twins gave him a sparing glance from their now whispered conversation, but said nothing in your defense this time as he takes a large step closer to you in the small space.

"I- sorry," you splutter, eyes downcast and cheeks hot. "I did not realize the carriage was full..."

You hear a snort and looked over to see Draco Malfoy. Grinning smugly as he glanced at Blaise from the corner of his steely grey eyes. "Knock it off Zabini, or else I might just write to your mother about how you aren't keeping up appearances as you should." He then looked to you, lifted his feet and pointed at the now empty seat. 

"Go ahead and sit there why don't you. There's plenty of room for someone as small as you."

You don't question his motives and rushed to fill the space, willing for any form of protection from the outraged boy trying to confront you. As soon as you were sitting down, Draco's feet were sat in your lap, crossed as they had been before. 

"He-!"

The carriage gave a jolt, sending Blaise fumbling for something to grab onto before he could land on his face in Draco's lap. He stumbled over to his spot, arms crossed and grumbling something about ungrateful prats below his breath with a roll of his eyes. The rest of the ride up the mountain side was quiet. Only the sound of the carriages wheels going over gravel and dirt shakily filling the space and the quiet chatter of the Carrow twins across the small space from you, Draco and Pansy.

"You're the younger (L/N) sibling, is that right?" Draco asked suddenly.

You glanced over at him from the corner of your eye, face red and nodding in answer.

He shifted his silver eyes away from you again and closed them once more.

"I heard that your family is fairly powerful and very recently returned to the status of pureblood. Father told me that it took nearly five generations to make up for what one of your ancestors had done to mess up the bloodline - a terrible decision really on that witches part. Must have made a horrid scar along your family tree."

A pause. Then-

"Did it?"

"I- I suppose it may have, if you would wish to see it that way, that is." You say slowly. "My mother prefers not to speak of the incident, especially not in public where any witch or wizard could get wind of it. Father says that they have been trying for years to get rid of my ancestor, Abigail (L/N), from said tree, but with very little success as she was the last head of house and never passed the role onto any of her children and there was no other that could have taken her role as the rest of the family had already died, and she was an only child..."

"You don't think you ought to not talk about it then?" Pansy asked, a smug little smile upon her face.

"You could be correct. But since when has anyone here at Hogwarts cared about what I have had to say of my family? I have never been asked about it before, nor has anyone asked either my brother Henry or sister Seraphina about the matter. History is history. And what has been done cannot logically be reversed without a time turner - which could lead to disastrous consequences if one would do something wrong in any way. So I suppose it does not matter whether I think I should discuss the matter of my family's history or not, seeing as I am not the one to have brought it up Pansy."

"For someone who doesn't socialize you sure do talk a lot." Blaise huffed out as he tried and failed to hide the small up-quiver of his lips.

You shifted your gaze once again over to the dark skinned boy, face finally cooling now that you had become more comfortable in discussing things. Speaking of facts did that to you. You never had to think of something to say to fill space and you could learn even more when chatting with someone who, like the Professors there at the school, knew what it was they were talking about.

"No one ever asks me to, so I do not."

"So you follow the rule of 'don't speak unless you're spoken to' kind of thing then?" Blaise asked mockingly.

"I would say 'does not everyone', but then how else would conversations begin? How could anyone discuss anything if they had not been spoken to in the first place? No one would ever speak if they had not been asked because no one would ever ask because they were not spoken to first. I just so happen to know when to keep comments to myself. Unlike some..."

You heard Draco give a snort.

"I think he's trying to tell you to shut it Zabini."

Blaise was positively fuming at that point. His dark face had went a stark shade of purple and his eyes had almost seemed to bulge out of his head at both Draco and you. He turned to look out the window huffily, his arms crossed tightly and body twisted away from everyone in the carriage. The carriage went silent once more, the Carrow sisters stopped their conversation to stare up at you. You flushed under the sudden attention and attempted to make yourself appear as small as possible. Both Pansy and Draco were laughing - though Pansy seemed to be forcing it more than anything as she sent what she hoped were discrete glares in your direction.

You lowered your face, voice practically nonexistent when you next spoke. "I never quite said that to him..." 

"Of course you didn't say it," Hestia stated matter-of-factly. "Telling another to shut it isn't proper wizarding etiquette. To do such a thing would demean our decorum and destroy its basic foundation of being polite to a member of magical and non-magical, muggle society. That's not to say you can't have implied it within your words though."

"I did not mean to imply such a thing!" You said, (e/c) eyes wide in slight panic. "I was just trying to continue the conversation further you see. I do not usually get to converse with others my own age. Everyone would much rather avoid me than speak to me, even for a class grade!"

Pansy gave a sniff, turning her head up at you. "Sounds desperate if you ask me."

"And it sounds rude to call someone desperate, yet here we are, stuck in a carriage together whether we all like it or not."

You didn't quite know what made you say it, but you found you didn't regret it when the look of clear and utter shock crossed Pansy's face. You sent a glare of your own in her direction and took great satisfaction in the snorting chuckle you got in return from Draco in her lap. Nobody said anything else after that, instead they all chose to stare in every direction but at each other. You were fine with the turn of events however. It was normal for a room to be silent when you were near someone, and for conversations to die off in your odd presence.

When the carriages all finally rolled to a stop just outside the large doors leading inside the school, you were the first to leave the small velvet covered space hosting the group of other Slytherins. You practically flung yourself from the steps and rushed forward to where you found Hagrid helping the first years out of the boats they had taken. You settle in beside a small black girl with long braids in the cluster of young children. Hagrid sent you a confused look but thankfully said nothing, letting you follow him up to where Professor McGonagall awaited the new students on the front steps.

You zone out for her introduction speech, and most of the welcoming feast held in the Great Hall for that matte. You sat at the very end of your houses table, away from everyone else. You could feel people staring at you every now and then, but you chose to ignore it in favor of eating what was on your plate instead. Once the feast was finished you headed down to the dungeons with the rest of Slytherin house, casting a short wave to Professor Snape as you turned to follow them from the Great Hall.


End file.
